Easy insertion electrical connector

ABSTRACT

An electrical connector for easy insertion of one or more electrical cables through a hole or knock-out of an electrical box. The electrical connector includes a substantially tubular connector body including sidewalls, a leading end, and a trailing end. A recess in at least one of the sidewalls facilitates orientation of the connector to avoid burrs in the knockout aperture of the electrical box. The connector body includes base flange at the trailing end, an inner bore, and a dividing wall. Two flexible gripper arms are formed at notched areas of the base flange on opposing sides of the sidewalls. An inner tooth and an outer tooth are included on each gripper arm. Each gripper arm includes a top wall and an outward extending wing. The connector enables connection of two cables to a single knockout with the dividing wall preventing contact between the cables.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to provisional U.S. Application No.62/174,591 filed Jun. 12, 2015, the contents of which are incorporatedherein by reference in their entirety.

This application is also a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. application Ser.No. 14/996,932 filed Jan. 15, 2016, the contents of which areincorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the connection of electrical cables toelectrical boxes and panels and specifically to an electrical connectorfor connecting one or more non-metallic electrical cables to anelectrical box or panel.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Non-metallic cable is commonly used in houses and other structures forsupplying electricity to outlets, lights, and numerous other electricaldevices. Although many types of connectors have been proposed, many ofthem are of complex design, are difficult to operate, are expensive tomanufacture, and are able to connect only a single cable to an existingknockout aperture. Furthermore, when installed on an electrical box, asubstantial portion of conventional electrical connectors projectoutward of the box, restricting the use of the connector to those boxesthat include substantial space around the box. In many situations, thereis minimal open area around a box, thus limiting the use of conventionalconnectors to new work installations or to old work installations wherethere is ample open space around the box.

Accordingly, what is needed is an electrical connector that enables auser to easily connect one or more non-metallic electrical cables to anelectrical box or panel. The electrical connector should be of simpledesign, easy to operate, and should be simple to manufacture at a lowper unit cost. The electrical connector should project a low profile onthe exterior of the box or panel when connected thereto. Furthermore,when connected to a knockout in a steel box, the electrical connectorpreferably includes a leading end that is capable of being oriented toavoid contact with the burrs that typically remain in the knockout ofthe steel box.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is an electrical connector for easy insertion ofone or more electrical cables through a hole or knock-out of anelectrical junction box. The electrical connector includes asubstantially tubular connector body including sidewalls, a leading end,and a trailing end. The connector body includes base flange at thetrailing end, an inner bore, and a dividing wall dividing the inner boreinto separate channels. Two flexible gripper arms are formed at notchedareas of the base flange on opposing sides of the sidewalls. An innertooth and an outer tooth are included on each gripper arm. Each gripperarm includes a top wall and an outward extending wing. The outwardextending wing in combination with the base flange form seats onopposing sides of the connector body for accommodating the wall of anelectrical box when the connector is pushed into a knockout hole in anelectrical box or panel. A recess in the sidewall enables orientation ofthe connector to avoid burrs in the knockout aperture of the electricalbox.

OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES

A first object of the invention is to provide an electrical connectorthat can connect one or more non-metallic electrical cables to anelectrical outlet box or panel.

A further object of the invention is to provide an electrical connectorthat is easy to operate and which requires minimum installation time.

A further object of the invention is to provide an electrical connectorin which can be used to attach one or two non-metallic cables to asingle knock out opening in a box or panel.

A further object of the invention is to provide an electrical connectorin which two cables are kept together with a separating wall between thecables.

A further object of the invention is to provide an electrical connectorthat includes a low profile outside the box when connected thereto, withlittle of the connector projecting outside the box.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an electricalconnector that provides proper strain relief to electrical cables,holding the cables fast within the connector and providing strongresistance to removal of the cables by a pulling force applied toextract them from the connector and box.

A further object of the invention is to provide an electrical connectorthat may be manufactured at low cost.

A further object of the invention is to provide a means of orienting theconnector to avoid burrs in the knockout aperture of the electrical box.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will bebetter understood by reading the following description along withreference to the drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front isometric view of an electrical connector fornon-metallic cable according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear isometric view of the electrical connector of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is front view of the electrical connector.

FIG. 4 is a rear view of the electrical connector.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the electrical connector as viewed from the topside of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the electrical connector as viewed from theright side of FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the electrical connector taken along line7-7 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the electrical connector taken along line8-8 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the electrical connector depicting anelectrical cable inserted there through and being held by the connector.

FIG. 10 is a front isometric view of the preferred embodiment of anelectrical connector for non-metallic cable according to the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 there is shown a first embodiment of anelectrical connector or fitting for non-metallic cable according to thepresent invention. The electrical connector 20 includes a connector body22 with two base flanges 24 and two opposing sidewalls 26. The sidewalls26 include an inner surface 28 and a dividing wall 30 that is integralwith and extends between the inner surfaces. Paired slits 32 on opposingsides 34 of the connector 20 define gripper arms 36 on the connector.The gripper arms 36 include outward extending wings 38 that with thebase flange 24 define a seat 40 on the outer surface of the connector20. The connector body 22 includes a top wall 42 extending between thesidewall 26 and dividing wall 30. Opposing notched areas or notches 44on the base flange 24 provide a thin wall portion 46 of the connectorbody 22 extending between the base flanges 24. Dividing wall 30 includessidewalls 54. As shown in FIG. 1, the gripper arms 36 include a gripperedge 52 adjacent the sidewalls 54 of the dividing wall 30. Gripper arms36 are thick adjacent the wings 38 and progressively narrow toward thegripper edge 52. A filet 53 extends the length of each end of thedividing wall 30 and outward along the inner surface 28 of the opposingsidewalls 26. The connector 20 includes a leading end 45, a trailing end47, and an inner bore 49 spanning across the connector at the trailingend 47. As shown in FIG. 2, the dividing wall 30 includes is not flushwith the trailing end 47 of the connector body but is offset from thetrailing end.

With reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the gripper arms 36 extend from theirouter ends 56 that are integral with the connector body 22 to thegripper edge 52. A narrow gap 58 extends between each gripper edge 52and the adjacent wall 54 of the dividing wall.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, the gripper edge 52 includes a V-shapednotch 60 therein. V-shaped notch 60 includes a sharp inner edge 62adjacent the wall 54 of the dividing wall 30. Base flanges 24 include atop surface 64 and wings 38 include a bottom surface 66. Top surface 64of base flanges 24 and bottom surface 66 of wings 38 are preferably flatand parallel to one another. As shown in FIG. 5, top wall 42 of gripperarm 36 slopes downward from the interior portion 55 to the outerperiphery 57 of the leading end 45.

With reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, the bottom edge 48 of the dividing wall30 is offset from the bottom surface 50 of the base flange 24. Gripperarms 36 include an inner surface 68 that is at an angle θ1 with respectto the dividing wall 30 and an outer surface 70 that is at an angle θ2with respect to the dividing wall 30. Angle θ1 of the inner surface 68of the gripper arms 36 with respect to the dividing wall 30 ispreferably between 43 and 47 degrees. Angle θ2 of the outer surface 70of the gripper arms 36 with respect to the dividing wall 30 ispreferably between 52 and 56 degrees. As shown in FIG. 8, the connector20 includes two cable channels 71 therein, one formed between eachgripper arm 36 and the dividing wall 30. The dual channels 71 arepositioned on either side of the dividing wall 30.

Referring to FIG. 9, the electrical connector 20 of the presentinvention enables an electrician to rapidly install a non-metallic cablewithin the knock out aperture of an electrical box. To operate theinvention, the electrical connector 20 is simply pushed into theaperture 72 until electrical box wall 74 is nested in seat 40 betweenwings 38 and base flange 24. Gripper arms 36 easily flex inward withrespect to the connector body 22 as a result of the thin wall portion 46at the notched areas 44 and the paired slits 32 on the opposing sides 34being narrower or thinner than the base flanges 24. Thus the electricalconnector 20 can be easily snapped into the knockout aperture. One ortwo electrical cables 76 can then be inserted into the electricalconnector 30 between the gripper arm 36 and the adjacent wall 54 of thedividing wall 30. Sharp inner edge 62 of V-shaped notch 60 bites intothe flexible sheath of electrical cable 76 and holds the electricalcable securely to the electrical box and provides proper strain reliefto resist reverse pullout of the cables and thereby conform toestablished electrical code. One or two electrical cables may beinserted into the connector 20, one in each channel 71 between gripperarm 36 and wall 54 of dividing wall 30. The sharp inner edge 62 includesa flat leading surface 78 and dividing wall 30 includes a flat leadingedge 80. With the gripper arm 36 in an unbiased position, as shown forthe gripper arm in the top half of FIG. 9, flat leading surface 78 ofgripper arm is parallel with flat leading edge 80 of dividing wall 30.The point 82 of sharp inner edge 62 in the unbiased position is pointedtoward the flat leading edge 80 of dividing wall 30.

As shown in FIG. 9, when installed on the electrical box, advantageouslyvery little of the connector 20 projects outward of the electrical box.After connection of the cables, only the base flange 24 portion of theconnector 20 remains outside the box, thus reducing the outward profileor extension of the connector and making it easy for the installer tofit the connector within the typically cramped space between theexterior of the electrical box and the surrounding wall structure.

With reference to FIG. 10 there is shown a second and preferredembodiment of an electrical connector or fitting 90 for non-metalliccable according to the present invention. Similar to the firstembodiment described hereinabove, the electrical connector 90 includes aconnector body 22 with two base flanges 24 and two opposing sidewalls26. The preferred embodiment of the electrical connector 90 furtherincludes a recess 92 in at least one of the sidewalls 26. When insertingthe connector 90 into a steel box, the recess 92 provides a means oforienting the connector to avoid burrs in the knockout aperture of thesteel box. The recess includes an arcuate surface 94 that is directed inan inverse direction of the arcuate surface of the outer circumferenceof the base flange 24.

The electrical connector of the present invention is preferablyconstructed of plastic and most preferably is molded in one piece ofplastic. Appropriate plastic materials for construction of the connectorinclude polycarbonate and polyvinyl chloride.

Although the description above contains many specific descriptions,materials, and dimensions, these should not be construed as limiting thescope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some ofthe presently preferred embodiments of this invention. Thus the scope ofthe invention should be determined by the appended claims and theirlegal equivalents, rather than by the examples given

What is claimed is:
 1. An electrical connector, comprising: a tubularconnector body including sidewalls, a leading end, a trailing end, andan inner bore at said trailing end; a base flange on said connector bodyat said trailing end; a dividing wall on said connector body, saiddividing wall including sidewalls; said dividing wall dividing saidinner bore into separate channels at said leading end of said connectorbody; two flexible gripper arms extending from said base flange; agripper edge on each of said gripper arms; and a recess in one of saidsidewalls of said tubular connector body.
 2. The electrical connector ofclaim 1, further comprising: a top wall and an outward extending wing onsaid gripper arms; and a seat formed by said base flange and saidoutward extending wing of said gripper arms.
 3. The electrical connectorof claim 2, wherein said gripper arms are thick adjacent the outwardextending wings and progressively narrow toward said gripper edges. 4.The electrical connector of claim 1, further comprising: paired slits onsaid connector body; and said paired slits defining said gripper arms.5. The electrical connector of claim 1, further comprising: a top wallon said gripper arms at said leading end of said connector body; aninterior portion and an outer periphery on said leading end of saidconnector body; and said top wall of said gripper arms sloping downwardfrom said interior portion to said outer periphery of said connectorbody.
 6. The electrical connector of claim 1, further comprising: anotched area on said base flange of said connector body; and a thin wallportion on said connector body at said notched area.
 7. The electricalconnector of claim 1, wherein said dividing wall is offset from saidtrailing end of said connector body.
 8. The electrical connector ofclaim 1, further comprising a V-shaped notch on said gripper edges oneach of said gripper arms.
 9. The electrical connector of claim 8,further comprising a sharp inner edge on said gripper arms, said sharpinner edge adjacent said sidewalls of said dividing wall.
 10. Theelectrical connector of claim 9, further comprising a flat leadingsurface on said sharp inner edge of said gripper arms.
 11. Theelectrical connector of claim 10, further comprising a flat leading edgeon said dividing wall.
 12. The electrical connector of claim 11, whereinsaid flat leading surface of said gripper arms is parallel with saidflat leading edge of said dividing wall.
 13. The electrical connector ofclaim 11, further comprising: a point on said sharp inner edge of saidgripper arms; and said point on said sharp inner edge is pointed towardthe flat leading edge of said dividing wall.
 14. An electricalconnector, comprising: a tubular connector body including sidewalls, aleading end, a trailing end, and an inner bore at said trailing end; abase flange on said connector body at said trailing end; a dividing wallon said connector body, said dividing wall including sidewalls; saiddividing wall dividing said inner bore into separate channels at saidleading end of said connector body; two flexible gripper arms extendingfrom said base flange; a gripper edge on each of said gripper arms; anoutward extending wing on each of said gripper arms; a seat formed bysaid base flange and said outward extending wings of said gripper arms;a recess in one of said sidewalls.
 15. The electrical connector of claim14, further comprising paired slits on said connector body that definesaid gripper arms.
 16. The electrical connector of claim 14, furthercomprising: a top wall on said gripper arms at said leading end of saidconnector body; an interior portion and an outer periphery on saidleading end of said connector body; and said top wall sloping downwardfrom said interior portion to said outer periphery.
 17. The electricalconnector of claim 14, wherein said gripper arms are thick adjacent theoutward extending wings and progressively narrow toward said gripperedges.
 18. The electrical connector of claim 14, wherein said dividingwall is offset from said trailing end of said connector body.